The silver halide system photography is superior to other photographic processes such as electrophotography and diazo process in sensitivity and gradation adjustment and thus has heretofore been most widely used. With reference to the silver halide system photography, many processes have been proposed which comprise imagewise forming or releasing a mobile (diffusible) dye during development, and then transferring the diffusible dye to a dye fixing element containing a mordant with the aid of a solvent such as water or heat solvent.
Such a process which comprises transferring a mobile dye to form an image is often carried out under pressure to effect uniform diffusion and transfer of such a dye. However, the pressure which can be applied to the system is naturally limited depending on the quality of the material. Therefore, the system is desired to have a surface profile that enables uniform lamination even under a low pressure.
Further, the dye fixing material is finally used for the purpose of utilizing an image in the foregoing image formation system. Therefore, surface gloss is one of the properties that are required of the material. The desired gloss of the material depends on the purpose. In order to provide texture or keep the view of image constant under various observation conditions, a so-called nongloss surface is occasionally required.
Such a nongloss surface can be normally obtained by providing the surface of the material with unevenness by a certain means. If this method is used, the gloss can be reduced by increasing the unevenness on the surface of the material. In the image formation system which is adapted to transfer a diffusible dye to form an image, however, the unevenness on the surface of the material is required to be not too great. If the surface unevenness is too great, uneven image density or white spot can occur. In a system which is adapted to spread a developer, it causes insufficient spreading of the developer. In a system which is adapted to peel the dye fixing element off the light-sensitive element, it causes the developer to be left on the surface of the image-receiving material. Therefore, in order to form a uniform image on a nongloss surface, a dye fixing element having a closely controlled surface profile is needed.
In order to obtain a matte surface, the support can be roughened as in color photographic paper. If a matte surface is prepared by this process, a relatively great surface unevenness is needed to realize a desired gloss. Further, the resulting matte surface cannot sufficiently suppress reflection and hence cannot prevent itself from giving a glary feeling, making it by no means possible to give an excellent texture.
Besides the foregoing process, a process utilizing microstructural phase separation of binder in a layer has been proposed in JP-A-3-246544, and JP-A-1-207745 (The term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application"). This process is a good process which comprises providing fine and uniform unevenness to give a matte surface with an excellent texture. However, this process is disadvantageous in that it has some difficulty in controlling the height of unevenness and the period at which unevenness occurs.
Further, a process which comprises the use of a so-called matting agent, which has heretofore been used, has been proposed. However, this process is disadvantageous in that if a matting agent is incorporated in the surface protective layer as in the past to such an extent that a nongloss surface is made in cooperation with a surface protecting effect given by the surface protective layer, the proportion of the matting agent in the surface protective layer is so high that the resulting image is shown as if it is covered by a film.